The Matt Rhule era did not go as planned for the Panthers, and owner David Tepper took the blame for it at a Tuesday news conference.
Tepper acknowledged while introducing Carolina's new head coach, Frank Reich, that he had learned a lot about the NFL's hiring process since he made Rhule his first coaching hire in 2020.
Specifically, he said that hiring Rhule was a "mistake," per Joe Person of The Athletic. Why? Because in Tepper's opinion, the "CEO"-type coach wasn't the right fit for the team.
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It's hard to argue against Tepper's point. Rhule signed a seven-year contract to be the Panthers' coach, but he never quite seemed comfortable in the NFL. Carolina posted an 11-27 record on his watch and had an offense that largely ranked in the bottom 10 league-wide. He struggled to get the most out of his players and was fired just five games into the 2022 season after leading the team to a 1-4 record.
That said, Tepper also wanted to make it clear that he isn't blaming Rhule for the issues the Panthers endured under his watch. He blamed himself more for failing to find the type of coach that Carolina needed.
"I'm not saying Matt wasn't a good coach," Tepper said, per Ashley Mahoney of Axios. "I'm not saying that. Please don't interpret it that way. I'm saying I could have run a better process last time."
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Indeed, Tepper evidently attempted to be more thorough during his second spin on the NFL's coaching carousel. The Panthers interviewed nine candidates for their head coaching job before ultimately settling on Reich as their choice.
In 2020, Rhule acknowledged that his hiring "happened very fast." He was named coach on Jan. 7; this time, Tepper waited until Jan. 26 before choosing Reich.
Certainly, Tepper's approach was more measured in his second hiring attempt, but it wasn't without controversy.
Many believed that Steve Wilks, who went 6-6 and nearly led the Panthers to the playoffs after becoming interim coach, deserved a chance to continue coaching the team. He was among Carolina's finalists for the job, but the team still chose Reich ahead of him.
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Tepper was asked about that decision as well as Wilks' performance as an interim head coach, but he didn't answer either question directly.
"We are open to the best people we have in that process," he said.
Apparently, that was Reich in this case. Now, he will now try to get the most out of the Panthers after posting a 40-33-1 record in five seasons with the Colts. He only won one playoff game in two postseason appearances during that time.
